Microsoft to open retail stores

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To try and improve the perception and image of it's brand, Microsoft is going to open a chain of retail stores, some in close proximity to Apple Stores.

So, despite not manufacturing computer hardware, they're gonna try to compete head to head with Apple? Are they stupid, or just high?

What are they going to fill their store with? 100 copies of Windows and Office to fill the shelves around a Zune kiosk, off to the side next to an Xbox alcove?

The Xbox is the only real hardware product they have to leverage, but if they focus too much on that, then they're pretty much competing with Gamestop in addition to Apple. And it's a pretty safe bet there will be a Gamestop in close proximity to an MS or Apple Store, as Gamestops are frelling everywhere.

It's not like they can provide any services as effective as Apple's Genius Bar. They'll just spend 20 minutes convincing you it's a hardware problem and not Vista.

Apple gaining a marketshare point musta really spooked them.

The funniest thing too is they've hired a former exec from Dreamworks Animation to run it. It's like they're not even trying to avoid comparisons/accusations of ripping off Apple anymore (ironically harming the brand image in their very effort to improve it!).

I have to assume the conversation went like this:

MS Guy #1: "Gee, Apple has nice retail stores owned by a guy who runs a hit 3D animation studio. We should get one of those."

MS Guy #2: "Which one? Stores or an animation guy?"

MS Guy #1: "Both!"

Penny-Arcade has also touched upon this story...

Meet the Filmmakers of "500 Days of Summer" @ Apple Store Soho

As my wanderings continued (I skipped using the subway and just walked for the rest of the day- had to work off that burger!), I swung over to the Apple Store in Soho (which is only a couple blocks down Prince St from the NYFA campus I attended) with no particular goals in mind beyond enjoying the atmosphere of a major Apple Store.

Turns out they had a small "Meet the Filmmaker" event going on within 20 minutes of my arival there, this one with the writers and director of the film "500 Days of Summer", which hits theaters this weekend.

Rom-Coms aren't usually my thing, but the few TV spots and talk show clips I had seen had nabbed some of my interest- and it's Sundance awards at least indicated it wasn't going to be your typical Rom-Com formula. And Zooey Deschanel is hard to resist in any role. So I decided to stick around and check it out.

All three guys were pretty funny (though I was suprised at how young the writers seemingly were) and were pretty forward about wanting to avoid the worn-down formula of Rom-Coms (a genre the writers apparently do like) as well as unrealistic set pieces ("Nobody gets bitten by a dolphin in our movie.").

The subsequent Q&A included some interesting tidbits, including how the color scheme of the film was designed to highlight Zooey's presence in her scenes.

They showed a couple clips from the movie, including what looks to be a clever sequence using side-by-side split screen showing the same party, contrasting what the (apparently at-times-unreliable) narrator's expectations were with the reality of the situation.

It looks like this one will be worth checking out- amusingly enough, they pointed out that while testing the movie, men liked the movie more than women but, due to the genre, were also the least likely to recommend it.

Apple should have a video podcast of the event available shortly. You can search for Meet the Filmmaker on the iTunes Store and subscribe to it there.